Electrical power adapters are used for a wide variety of applications, facilitating the supply of electrical power to a myriad of electronic devices including smart-phones, media players, and other personal electronic systems.
As smart-phones, media players, and other electronic systems become more compact, a limiting factor on the size of the package in which the systems are shipped and sold may be the size of the electrical power adapter used to charge the electronic system. As an example, a portable media player may be packaged along with a BS1363 (Type G) electrical power adapter, used in the United Kingdom, where the media player is actually smaller than the electrical power adapter. Such large power adapters may therefore contribute to increased shipping costs for the electrical systems and may also be difficult for the user to conveniently store and transport.
New electrical power adapters may require new features to reduce their physical size, enabling reduced shipping costs and added convenience for the user.